In response to reports of a U.S. Navy vessel boarding and detaining a Venezuelan fishing boat, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced moves that raise the risk of conflict.
“Recently, in the name of combatting drug trafficking, the U.S. has deployed forces in the waters of the Caribbean sea off Venezuela, and claimed to have sunk a Venezuelan vessel, shot dead sailors, and intercepted and detained a Venezuelan fishing boat, resulting in continued tensions in the region. The U.S.’s moves threaten regional peace and security, severely infringe upon other countries’ sovereignty, security and lawful rights and interests, and seriously violate international law,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian at his Sept. 15 press conference.
